Information and help on glass fusing, stained glass, kiln forming, acid etching, sandblasting and other areas of working with glass.

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

Booths at Fairs

Think of your booth at a show as a mini art gallery. It should show off your artwork in the best possible light. The "job" of a booth at any type of show is to set up an environment to do the following:

Attract a stroller's attention so that they stop in front of your booth and look.

Provide an appropriate environment which best shows off your artwork.

Entices the potential buyer inside to get a better look.

Subconsciously directs the viewer to see all of the artwork (i.e. the booth has a footpath flow)

Booths do this in a variety of ways.

The booth provides a physical barrier so that your booth is separated from your neighbour's booth. You don't want your potential client to see your neighbour's craft/artwork while they are in your booth. Make sure your booth has full-sized screens on all 3 sides to block the view to your neighbour s booth.

It provides a consistent "art gallery" environment when your potential client steps inside.Neutral walls, which do not distract from your artwork are best. In fact, the walls should help display the artwork. The booth should make the environment friendly to the viewer.

Have a floor covering. This is particularly important on an inside show on concrete floorsThe covering should be neutral in colour so as to not compete with the stained glass.

Feature the artwork in the front. Make it easy for the client to walk up to your artwork. Nothing on the floor should impede this. Keep all non-art stuff like sales & packing stuff in the back of the booth.

Have as much lighting in your booth as possible. Glass is all about light. The more the better. Bring plenty of power strips, extension cords and extra light bulbs of the appropriate wattage.

Plan out the flow of the viewer. Think like a potential buyer and place your artwork appropriately. Have your big eye-catching show pieces where they are plainly visible from someone walking down the hall. Then put the smaller, less-expensive stuff in the back. People will be drawn into the booth by the big, expensive show pieces. Then, once they are inside, the artwork should go from most outrageous to more affordable, forming a path around the booth.

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